Grand Duchy of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach 1813-1918 (Germany)

Großherzogtum Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach

Last modified: 2019-07-30 by klaus-michael schneider
Keywords: saxe-weimar-eisenach | sachsen-weimar-eisenach | tricolour | banner of arms | lion(barry) | lion(black) | hen | stripes(10) | crancelin |
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2:3
by Santiago Dotor
Flag adopted 29th January 1897, abolished 1920

• Introduction
• Civil and State Flag 1897-1920 (Landesflagge)
• Civil and State Flag 1813-1897 (Landesflagge)
• Grand Ducal Standards until 1918 (Großherzogsstandarten)
• Grand Ducal Standard c.1862-c.1878 (Großherzogsstandarte)
• Grand Ducal Standard c.1878-1897 (Großherzogsstandarte)
• Grand Ducal Standard 1897-1903 (Großherzogsstandarte)
• Standard of the Grand Duchess Sophie, born Princess of the Netherlands, 1897-1903 (Standarte der Großherzogin Sophie, geboren Prinzessin der Niederlande)
• Grand Ducal Standard 1903-1918 (Großherzogsstandarte)

• Clickable map of Saxon Duchies 1871-1918 (Germany)
• Standards of the Emperor and Other Sovereigns 1871-1918 (Germany)
• Historical Flags (Thuringia / Thü;ringen, Germany)
• Historical Flags (Thuringia / Thüuringen, Germany)
• Thuringia (Thüringen)
• Germany

From Ralf Hartemink's International Civic Arms website:

Saxe-Weimar was a rather small Duchy until 1690, when it was combined with the Duchy of Saxe-Jena and in 1741 with Saxe-Eisenach. This much larger and powerful Duchy was promoted to Grand Duchy by the Vienna Congress in 1815. At the same time the new Grand Duke received a large part of the Duchy of Saxony for his help against Napoleon. Since 1903 the addition 'Weimar' was removed and the state became the Grand Duchy of Saxony (the former duchy of Saxony was now a province of Prussia) until 1920 when it was incorporated in the new State of Thuringia. (...)

On 20th April 1813 the Thuringian battalion of the Dukes of Saxony defected to Napoleons enemies and since then bore black-green-yellow cockades. Black and yellow were the colours of the Russian Emperor, who was considered to be Germany's liberator plus the green colour of the Saxonian crancelin. Since then green-black-yellow vexilla were introduced for the Saxonian forces. The series of colours differed within the following years and was carelessly changed several times. Nevertheless 1813 is the year of birth of the Saxonian tricolour. After the 13th December 1813 Grand Duke Karl August of Saxe Weimar removed the French symbols within the forces and replaced them by the new colours. Between 1815 and 1832, when the Saxonian colours where changed to white and green, only Saxe-Weimar kept the tricolour.
The tricolour was black over green over yellow from 1813 until 1897 and black over yellow over green from 1897 until 1918.
Source: Jens Hild: "Einführung der 'sächsischen Dreifarb' vor 200 Jahren" (Introduction of the Saxonian Tricolour 200 years ago); published in "Der Flaggenkurier" no.38; Berlin 2013; pp.35-36
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 22 Dec 2013

Landesflagge

Horizontal tricolour black-yellow-green. (One source gives black-green-yellow). In use until 1918.
Norman Martin, March 1998

In 1896 (officially from 29 January 1897) the order of the colors was changed (to match the heraldic rule of tincture) to black-yellow-green.
Mario Fabretto, 31 August 1998

Landesflagge

The flag was adopted in 1813 with the colours ordered black-green-yellow. In 1896 (...) the order of the colors was changed.
Mario Fabretto, 31 August 1998

Siebmacher 1878 gives the Landesflagge as black-green-yellow. It mentions that the grand duke uses it with the small arms in the middle stripe.
Theo van der Zalm, 22 June 2001

The standard of the Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar is in fact a banner of arms, rather in the British tradition. Note that the striped lion is not for Hesse but for Thuringia. The Hessian house started as a branch of that of Thuringia. However Hesse prospered while the counts of Thuringia died out in the male line and the Saxon house of Wettin (counts-palatine of Meissen) inherited Thuringia. The second lion is that of Meissen. Below are the county of Henneberg and the estates of Arnshaugk, Blankenhain and Tautenburg.
Source: Steenbergen 1862.
Theo van der Zalm, 16 June 2001

From Ralf Hartemink's International Civic Arms website:

(...) The arms show in the first quarter the striped lion of Thuringia. Thuringia was ruled by the Dukes of Thuringia-Hesse until 1247 and since it has been part of Saxony and most rulers over (parts of) Saxony from the Wettin dynasty used the striped lion in their arms.
The second quarter shows the lion of the County of Meissen, also one of the original possessions of the Wettin dynasty.
The third quarter shows the arms of the County of Hennenberg combined with the arms of the Lordship of Arenshaugk. The County of Hennenberg is also one of the oldest possessions of the Wettin dynasty, but the arms of Arenshaugk stand for the Neustadt district, one of the additions to Saxe-Weimar in 1815.
The fourth quarter combines the lion of the Lordship of Blankenhain and the arms of the Lordship of Tautenburg. Both areas were part of Saxony until 1815.
The inescutcheon shows the arms of Saxony proper.

Santiago Dotor, 11 July 2002

Siebmacher 1878 mentions that the grand duke uses the black-green-yellow Landesflagge with the lesser arms on the middle stripe.

Theo van der Zalm, 22 June 2001

This standard and that of grand duchess Sophie have the order of stripes adopted as Landesflagge on 29th January 1897, so I guess it cannot have been used before that date.
Santiago Dotor, 25 June 2001

The garter around the Saxon arms is that of the Grand Ducal House's Order of Vigilance or Order of the White Falcon (Großherzoglich Sächsischer Hausorden der Wachsamkeit / Orden vom Weißen Falken). Its motto reads 'vigilando ascendimus'.
Santiago Dotor, 11 July 2002

Like the royal standard of Saxony, but with canton containing arms of the Landgraviate of Thuringia (a red and white striped lion rampant on a blue field). In use until 1918
Norman Martin, March 1998

The square Saxon banner-of-arms with Thuringian canton was adopted 1903, contemporarily to many other banner-of-arms-like German sovereigns' standards (cf. Württemberg, Hesse etc.), similarly simple yet beautiful.
Santiago Dotor, 10 July 2002